David Harris
Bill Freedman Honored for Selfless Generosity
On June 7, before several hundred supporters of regional nonprofit organizations, the Greater Cincinnati Planned Giving Council honored Bill Freedman, long-time volunteer and donor to the Jewish Federation of Cincinnati, with its Voices of Giving Award. The award pays tribute to selfless generosity in making a bequest or planned gift to a favorite charitable organization. Bill Freedman was 1 of 33 philanthropists recognized this year.
Asked how it felt to receive the award, Freedman said, “I felt—and feel—very honored.”
Freedman was nominated by the Jewish Federation of Cincinnati. Its CEO, Shep Englander, praised Freedman: “We are proud of you. This is a well-deserved recognition. You have been a passionate, effective and humble leader of our community for decades.”
Asked why he did this work, Freedman said, “It’s fun to play a role in sustaining the continuity of our community. I do it by volunteering my time; I do it by making a financial commitment. It’s infused my life and my family’s life with a real sense of identity.”
In recognizing Bill Freedman, the emcee for the evening, John Lomax, shared the following with the crowd: “Bill is a longtime supporter of the Jewish Federation of Cincinnati and currently serves as the chair of Create Your Jewish Legacy, a community-wide endowment building program that began in 2014. In fact, Bill helped to start this vital and impactful program, which has received national recognition for its effectiveness. He has been instrumental in leading the 23 community agencies and synagogues in starting and/or enhancing endowment programs in their institutions. Ultimately, Bill’s leadership has increased the community’s overall estimated future endowment dollars to over $83 million.”
For many years, Freedman has been an active solicitor of major gifts for the Jewish Federation’s annual campaign, as well as serving on their Finance and Administration Committee. Throughout the past year, Freedman volunteered significantly more time to the Jewish Federation to help complete a thorough yearlong review of over 75 restricted and unrestricted endowments, some dating back to the late 1800s. In addition, Freedman has assisted many organizations participating in Create Your Jewish Legacy by supplying organizations with templates for endowment agreements and templates for policies guiding the setup of their institutions endowment program.
For Freedman, making a legacy gift was a simple part of his gift planning. He feels strongly that the Jewish Federation is an important organization to support. Freedman said, “If we don’t pitch in in the long run to make sure there is continuity with our gifts, there will be a gap. We need to bridge that gap, and the way to do it is through volunteering and making a legacy commitment.” Freedman’s legacy gift will assure the continuation of his annual giving and enable the Jewish community and other organizations dear to him to benefit from his generosity. The legacy gift will allow the Jewish Federation of Cincinnati to continue to provide programs for the community and funding for partner agencies, as well as continue to provide a strong, vibrant, and caring community for thousands. His personal and professional devotion to the Jewish Federation of Cincinnati and other organizations is inspiring.
Asked what he would say to the younger generation about the importance of giving back, Freedman said: “All of us have benefited from the foresight and generosity of others who came before us and who literally invested in us. We simply pass that gift to our successors.”
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